2019 NCLEX Examination Statistics - NCSBN

NCSBN RESEARCH BRIEF

Volume 79 | July 2020

2019 NCLEX® Examination Statistics

2019 NCLEX® Examination Statistics

National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc. (NCSBN®)

Mission Statement

The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN®) provides education, service and research through collaborative leadership to promote evidence-based regulatory excellence for patient safety and public protection.

Copyright ©2020 National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc. (NCSBN®)

All rights reserved. NCSBN®, NCLEX®, NCLEX-RN®, NCLEX-PN®, NNAAP®, MACE®, TERCAP®, Nursys®, Nursys e-Notify®, Transition to Practice® and Question Dissection® are registered trademarks of NCSBN and may not be used or reproduced without written permission from NCSBN.

Permission is granted to boards of nursing to use or reproduce all or parts of this document for licensure related purposes only. Nonprofit education programs have permission to use or reproduce all or parts of this document for educational purposes only. Use or reproduction of this document for commercial or for-profit use is strictly prohibited. Any authorized reproduction of this document shall display the notice: "Copyright by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc. All rights reserved." Or, if a portion of the document is reproduced or incorporated in other materials, such written materials shall include the following credit: "Portions copyright by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc. All rights reserved."

Address inquiries in writing to NCSBN Permissions, 111 E. Wacker Drive, Suite 2900, Chicago, IL 60601-4277. Suggested Citation: National Council of State Boards of Nursing. (2020). 2019 NCLEX® Examination Statistics. Chicago: Author.

ISBN# 978-1-7324200-5-2

National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc. (NCSBN) | 2020

5TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTSIntroduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

List of TablesTable 1. Candidates Taking the NCLEX-RN® for U.S. Licensure by Type of Candidate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Table 2. Candidates Taking the NCLEX-RN® for Canadian Licensure/Registration by Type of Candidate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Table 3. Summary Statistics for First-Time NCLEX-RN® Candidates for U.S. Licensure

and Canadian Licensure/Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Table 4. First-Time, U.S.-Educated Candidates Taking the NCLEX-RN®

for U.S. Licensure by Type of Degree (Jan. 1–March 31, 2019) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11Table 5. First-Time, U.S.-Educated Candidates Taking the NCLEX-RN®

for U.S. Licensure by Type of Degree (April 1–June 30, 2019) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Table 6. First-Time, U.S.-Educated Candidates Taking the NCLEX-RN®

for U.S. Licensure by Type of Degree (July 1–Sept. 30, 2019) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Table 7. First-Time, U.S.-Educated Candidates Taking the NCLEX-RN®

for U.S. Licensure by Type of Degree (Oct. 1–Dec. 31, 2019) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Table 8. First-Time, U.S.-Educated Candidates Taking the NCLEX-RN®

for U.S. Licensure by Type of Degree (Jan. 1–Dec. 31, 2019) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Table 9. First-Time, Internationally Educated Candidates Taking the NCLEX-RN®

for U.S. Licensure by Country of Education (Jan.1-Dec. 31, 2019) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Table 10. First-Time, Canada-Educated Candidates Taking the NCLEX-RN® for Canadian Licensure/Registration by Type of Degree (Jan. 1–Dec. 31, 2019) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Table 11. First-Time, Internationally Educated Candidates Taking the NCLEX-RN® for Canadian Licensure/Registration by Country of Education (Jan. 1–Dec. 31, 2019) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28Table 12. Candidates Taking the NCLEX-PN® by Type of Candidate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42Table 13. Summary Statistics for First-Time NCLEX-PN®, U.S.-Educated Candidates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42Table 14. First-Time, U.S.-Educated Candidates Taking the NCLEX-PN® (Jan. 1-Dec. 31, 2019) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43Table 15. First-Time, Internationally Educated Candidates Taking the NCLEX-PN®

by Country of Education (Jan. 1–Dec. 31, 2019). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

List of FiguresFigure 1. NCLEX-RN® Pass Rates for First-Time, U.S.-Educated Candidates for U.S. Licensure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30Figure 2. NCLEX-RN® Pass Rates for All Candidates for U.S. Licensure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Figure 3. NCLEX-RN® Yearly Pass Rates for U.S. Licensure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32Figure 4. NCLEX-RN® Pass Rates for First-Time, Canada-Educated Candidates for Canadian Licensure/Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33Figure 5. NCLEX-RN® Pass Rates for All Candidates for Canadian Licensure/Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34Figure 6. NCLEX-RN® Yearly Pass Rates for Canadian Licensure/Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35Figure 7. NCLEX-RN® Volume for First-Time, U.S.-Educated Candidates for U.S. Licensure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36Figure 8. NCLEX-RN® Volume for All Candidates for U.S. Licensure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37Figure 9. NCLEX-RN® Annual Volume for U.S. Licensure, April 1994-December 2019 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38Figure 10. NCLEX-RN® Volume for First-Time, Canadian-Educated Candidates for Canadian Licensure/Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39


6 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Figure 11. NCLEX-RN® Volume for All Candidates for Canadian Licensure/Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40Figure 12. NCLEX-RN® Annual Volume for Canadian Licensure/Registration,

January 2015–December 2019 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41Figure 13. NCLEX-PN® Pass Rates for First-Time, U.S.-Educated Candidates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48Figure 14. NCLEX-PN® Pass Rates for All Candidates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49Figure 15. NCLEX-PN® Annual Pass Rates, April 1994-December 2019 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Figure 16. NCLEX-PN® Volume for First-Time, U.S.-Educated Candidates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51Figure 17. NCLEX-PN® Volume for All Candidates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Figure 18. NCLEX-PN® Annual Volume, April 1994-December 2019 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53


7INTRODUCTION

IntroductionIn 1982, NCSBN substantially revised the State Board Test Pool Examination (SBTPE). NCSBN changed the examination from a norm-referenced test to a criterion-referenced test, implemented a new test plan and used Rasch’s (1960) one param-eter logistic model to calibrate items and measure candidates’ abilities. At that time, NCSBN renamed the examinations the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN®) and the National Council Licensure Examination for Practical Nurses (NCLEX-PN®). However, these NCLEX® examinations were very different than the NCLEX examinations taken by candidates today. These examinations were only administered twice a year in a pencil-and-paper format; each administra-tion lasted two days.

In 1986, the NCSBN Board of Directors (BOD) fund-ed an initial investigation on the feasibility of using computerized adaptive testing (CAT) procedures. CAT held the promise of making examinations avail-able year round, shortening examination length by only giving candidates items that were appropriate for their ability and providing greater security for the content of the items. On April 1, 1994, NCSBN began administering the NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN Exam-inations exclusively via CAT. On Jan. 5, 2015, the first candidates were able to take the NCLEX-RN exam-ination for purposes of licensure/registration in Canada. This publication provides a detailed break-down of candidate performance for 2019, as well as historical data.

Computerized Adaptive Testing

CAT is a method of administering examinations that combines the power and speed of current computer technology with modern measurement theory. With CAT, each candidate’s test is unique; it is assem-bled interactively as the individual is tested. As the candidate answers each question, the computer calculates an ability estimate based on all earli-er answers. The test administration software then identifies the content area for the next item. Next, the software scans through available items with-in the identified content area for an item that has a degree of difficulty sufficient to give the candidate approximately a 50% chance of answering it cor-rectly. This item is selected and presented to the candidate on the computer screen. This process is

repeated for each item, creating an examination tai-lored to the individual’s ability level, while fulfilling all NCLEX test plan requirements. The examina-tion continues in this way until a pass-fail decision can be determined. Because the examination could end at any time after the minimum number of items has been answered, it is important that the test plan specifications are met throughout the entire test.

Setting the Passing Standard

To ensure a consistent standard of competence in nursing practice, NCSBN uses a criterion-refer-enced standard, which means that passing or failing depends solely upon a candidate’s level of per-formance in relation to the established point that represents safe entry-level competence. There is no preassigned percentage of candidates that pass or fail each examination. Because the practice of nurs-ing changes over time, it is necessary to reevaluate the appropriateness of the passing standard from time to time. To ensure that the passing standards for the NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN examinations accurately reflects the knowledge, skills and abilities essential for entry-level nurse practice, NCSBN’s BOD reevaluates the passing standard every three years or when the test plan changes. In evaluating the passing standard, the BOD considers informa-tion from a variety of sources. Although there is no limit on the information it may consider, the BOD is typically presented with the following information:

1. The results of a standard-setting exercise under-taken by the panel of judges. Currently, this exercise consists of a modified Angoff pro-cedure with additional statistical compromise procedures. A list of the members on the panel of judges and their qualifications is also included.

2. A historical record of the passing standard and annual summaries of candidate performance on the NCLEX examination since the implementa-tion of the CAT methodology in 1994.

3. The results from the annual standard-setting survey, which solicits the opinions of employers and educators regarding the competence of the current cohort of entry-level nurses.


8 INTRODUCTION

4. Information detailing the educational readi-ness of high school graduates who expressed an interest in nursing.

In April 1998, the passing standard for the NCLEX-RN Examination increased from –0.42 logits to –0.35 logits. In April 2001, this standard was retained for another three years. In April 2004, the standard increased to –0.28 logits. In April 2007, the standard increased again to –0.21 logits. In April 2010, the standard increased to –0.16 logits. In April 2013, the standard increased to 0.00 logits. In April 2016, this standard was retained for another three years. In April 2019, this standard was again retained for another three years.

The passing standard for the NCLEX-PN Examina-tion has experienced a similar increase over time. In April 1999, the passing standard for the NCLEX-PN Examination increased from –0.51 logits to –0.47 logits. In April 2002, this standard was retained for another three years. In April 2005, the NCLEX-PN passing standard increased from –0.47 to –0.42 logits. In April 2008, the standard increased to –0.37 logits. In April 2011, the standard increased to –0.27 logits. In April 2014, the standard increased to –0.21 logits. In April 2017, this standard was retained for another three years. It is important to note that the RN and PN standards are not direct-ly comparable because they are based on different item pools and different scopes of practice.

Pass-Fail Decisions

Candidate performance on the NCLEX examina-tions is reported only as a pass-fail decision. Scores are never reported. As a result, almost all the sta-tistics presented here are pass rates or statistics based upon a pass-fail decision.

To make pass-fail decisions, the computer seeks to determine with 95% certainty whether the can-didate’s true ability is above or below the passing standard. To do this, three pieces of information must be known: the current person ability estimate, the precision of that estimate and the passing stan-dard. After the minimum number of items has been answered, the computer compares the candidate’s ability level to the standard required for passing. Candidates clearly above the passing standard pass. Candidates clearly below the passing standard fail.

If the candidate’s ability level is close enough to the passing standard that it is not clear which side of the passing standard his or her ability falls, the com-puter continues asking items. As more items are answered, the candidate’s ability estimate becomes more precise. After each item, the candidate’s abil-ity level is recomputed, using all of the information (answers to all the items asked) available at that point. When it becomes clear on which side of the passing standard the candidate’s ability falls, the examination ends.

Some candidates’ abilities are very close to the passing standard. For these candidates, all items in the item pool might not provide enough informa-tion to be certain their ability is truly above or below the passing standard. These are the candidates who take the maximum number of items. Once the maximum number of items is administered, the computer waives the 95% certainty requirement and makes a pass or fail decision based upon the candidate’s final ability estimate. If the candidate’s ability estimate is above the passing standard, the candidate passes. If not, he or she fails.

If an NCLEX examination ends because time runs out, then the computer does not have enough infor-mation to make a clear pass-fail decision based on the 95% certainty requirement; if it did, it already would have stopped administering items. However, when the response patterns of people who ran out of time were investigated, it was found that some had been performing consistently above the pass-ing standard. A mechanism is therefore provided for these candidates to pass. The key word here is “consistently.” If a candidate’s ability estimate has been consistently above the passing standard over the last 60 operational items, then he or she will pass, despite having run out of time.

92019 NCLEX® EXAMINATION STATISTICS


Table 1. Candidates Taking the NCLEX-RN® for U.S. Licensure by Type of Candidate

NCLEX-RN® Examination: Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, 2019

Jan. 1 – March 31, 2019 April 1 – June 30, 2019 July 1 – Sept. 30, 2019 Oct. 1 – Dec. 31, 2019 Total Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, 2019

Type of Candidate Candidates Passed % Candidates Passed % Candidates Passed % Candidates Passed % Candidates Passed %

First-Time, U.S.-Educated

Diploma 545 485 89.0 607 535 88.1 769 688 89.5 326 266 81.6 2,247 1,974 87.9

Baccalaureate 22,550 20,930 92.8 26,345 24,282 92.2 27,589 25,005 90.6 7,798 6,685 85.7 84,282 76,902 91.2

Associate Degree 23,916 20,876 87.3 26,979 23,328 86.5 26,078 22,340 85.7 7,825 5,673 72.5 84,798 72,217 85.2

Special Program Codes 17 8 47.1 10 7 70.0 8 4 50.0 12 8 66.7 47 27 57.4

Total First-Time, U.S.-Educated 47,028 42,299 89.9 53,941 48,152 89.3 54,444 48,037 88.2 15,961 12,632 79.1 171,374 151,120 88.2

Repeat, U.S.-Educated 8,862 3,996 45.1 9,150 3,395 37.1 11,507 5,991 52.1 10,496 4,237 40.4 40,015 17,619 44.0

First-Time, Internationally Educated 4,814 2,292 47.6 5,064 2,353 46.5 5,173 2,499 48.3 5,989 2,425 40.5 21,040 9,569 45.5

Repeat, Internationally Educated 4,706 1,410 30.0 4,970 1,368 27.5 4,768 1,406 29.5 5,421 1,181 21.8 19,865 5,365 27.0

All Candidates 65,410 49,997 76.4 73,125 55,268 75.6 75,892 57,933 76.3 37,867 20,475 54.1 252,294 183,673 72.8


10 2019 NCLEX® EXAMINATION STATISTICS


Table 2. Candidates Taking the NCLEX-RN® for Canadian Licensure/Registration by Type of Candidate

NCLEX-RN® Examination: Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, 2019

Type of Candidate


Candidates Passed % Candidates Passed % Candidates Passed % Candidates Passed % Candidates Passed %

First-Time, Canada-Educated

1,512 1,298 85.8 3,017 2,651 87.9 3,886 3,299 84.9 1,427 1,177 82.5 9,842 8,425 85.6

Repeat, Canada-Educated

611 332 54.3 647 287 44.4 670 375 56.0 820 418 51.0 2,748 1,412 51.4

First-Time, Internationally Educated

257 161 62.6 255 157 61.6 276 178 64.5 295 143 48.5 1,083 639 59.0

Repeat, Internationally Educated

204 85 41.7 215 76 35.3 226 94 41.6 250 71 28.4 895 326 36.4

All Candidates 2,584 1,876 72.6 4,134 3,171 76.7 5,058 3,946 78.0 2,792 1,809 64.8 14,568 10,802 74.1

Table 3. Summary Statistics for First-Time NCLEX-RN® Candidates for U.S. Licensure and Canadian Licensure/Registration

NCLEX-RN® January – December 2019

Passing Standard1 0 logits

Estimated Decision Consistency2 0.91

Average Test Length3 116

Percent of Candidates Taking the Minimum Number of Items 53.7%

Percent of Candidates Taking the Maximum Number of Items 12.6%

Average Testing Time4 2 hours, 14 minutes

Percent of Candidates Taking the Maximum Amount of Time 1.4%

1 The NCLEX-RN passing standard scale uses logits as the unit of measurement. Logits is short for log-odds-units. These units have no inherent meaning with regard to nursing content and in fact have an arbitrary zero point, but logits are practical because the probability of a correct response can easily be computed when the candidate’s ability and the item’s difficulty are known. Typically, the logit range on the NCLEX-RN scale is from -2.00 (easy items or low ability candidates) to 2.00 (difficult items or high ability candidates)."

2 Estimated Decision Consistency is an indicator of reliability. Conceptually, it is the proportion of pass-fail decisions that would remain the same if the same population were retested immediately after their first test (assuming no learning or fatigue effects) using a different set of items.

3 NCLEX-RN examinations consist of 75 to 265 items.

4 The standard amount of allotted testing time for the NCLEX-RN examination is 6 hours.




Table 4. First-Time, U.S.-Educated Candidates Taking the NCLEX-RN® for U.S. Licensure by Type of Degree (Jan. 1 – March 31, 2019)1

RN-Diploma RN-Associate Degree RN-Baccalaureate Total Jan. 1 - March 31, 2019

Jurisdiction Candidates Passed % Candidates Passed % Candidates Passed % Candidates Passed %

Alabama 435 375 86.2 471 451 95.8 906 826 91.2

Alaska 66 59 89.4 28 26 92.9 94 85 90.4

Arizona 665 630 94.7 471 451 95.8 1,136 1,081 95.2

Arkansas 557 477 85.6 174 163 93.7 731 640 87.6

California 2,126 1,993 93.7 1603 1496 93.3 3,729 3,489 93.6

Colorado 178 166 93.3 437 414 94.7 615 580 94.3

Connecticut 91 76 83.5 147 144 98.0 238 220 92.4

Delaware 106 101 95.3 15 13 86.7 121 114 94.2

District of Columbia 25 23 92.0 25 23 92.0

Florida 3,711 2,649 71.4 1087 982 90.3 4,798 3,631 75.7

Georgia 380 344 90.5 990 924 93.3 1,370 1,268 92.6

Hawaii 21 21 100.0 60 49 81.7 81 70 86.4

Idaho 110 100 90.9 138 129 93.5 248 229 92.3

Illinois 769 702 91.3 1333 1199 89.9 2,102 1,901 90.4

Indiana 15 11 73.3 541 467 86.3 598 549 91.8 1,154 1,027 89.0

Iowa 308 266 86.4 235 219 93.2 543 485 89.3

Kansas 224 189 84.4 188 163 86.7 412 352 85.4

Kentucky 548 508 92.7 409 395 96.6 957 903 94.4

Louisiana 34 32 94.1 339 321 94.7 494 466 94.3 867 819 94.5

Maine 20 18 90.0 95 87 91.6 115 105 91.3

Maryland 444 419 94.4 351 301 85.8 795 720 90.6

Massachusetts 316 293 92.7 600 555 92.5 916 848 92.6

Michigan 727 644 88.6 889 802 90.2 1,616 1,446 89.5

Minnesota 800 682 85.3 279 258 92.5 1,079 940 87.1

Mississippi 346 309 89.3 251 226 90.0 597 535 89.6

Missouri 12 12 100.0 424 393 92.7 753 686 91.1 1,189 1,091 91.8

Montana 53 47 88.7 96 90 93.8 149 137 91.9

Nebraska 21 17 81.0 218 207 95.0 239 224 93.7

Nevada 179 164 91.6 241 234 97.1 420 398 94.8

New Hampshire 3 2 66.7 51 50 98.0 54 52 96.3

New Jersey 190 176 92.6 385 355 92.2 310 286 92.3 885 817 92.3

New Mexico 114 99 86.8 97 90 92.8 211 189 89.6

New York 1,459 1,292 88.6 1185 1085 91.6 2,644 2,377 89.9

North Carolina 33 31 93.9 333 316 94.9 501 481 96.0 867 828 95.5

North Dakota 170 164 96.5 170 164 96.5

Northern Mariana Islands

3 1 33.3 3 1 33.3

Ohio 88 62 70.5 1,317 1,138 86.4 770 718 93.2 2,175 1,918 88.2

Oklahoma 386 348 90.2 111 100 90.1 497 448 90.1



Table 4. First-Time, U.S.-Educated Candidates Taking the NCLEX-RN® for U.S. Licensure by Type of Degree (Jan. 1 – March 31, 2019)1

RN-Diploma RN-Associate Degree RN-Baccalaureate Total Jan. 1 - March 31, 2019


Oregon 29 24 82.8 107 100 93.5 136 124 91.2

Pennsylvania 134 124 92.5 615 575 93.5 715 668 93.4 1,464 1,367 93.4

Rhode Island 158 138 87.3 116 108 93.1 274 246 89.8

South Carolina 334 299 89.5 421 397 94.3 755 696 92.2

South Dakota 40 38 95.0 225 208 92.4 265 246 92.8

Tennessee 298 269 90.3 802 747 93.1 1,100 1,016 92.4

Texas 39 37 94.9 1,935 1,759 90.9 2436 2322 95.3 4,410 4,118 93.4

Utah 422 363 86.0 285 264 92.6 707 627 88.7

Vermont 1 1 100.0 1 1 100.0

Virginia 457 387 84.7 752 716 95.2 1,209 1,103 91.2

Washington 220 199 90.5 214 191 89.3 434 390 89.9

West Virginia 148 143 96.6 77 70 90.9 225 213 94.7

Wisconsin 696 651 93.5 528 462 87.5 1,224 1,113 90.9

Wyoming 59 50 84.7 59 50 84.7

Total 545 485 89.0 23,916 20,876 87.3 22,550 20,930 92.8 47,011 42,291 90.0

1 Data does not include Special Program Codes.



Table 5. First-Time, U.S.-Educated Candidates Taking the NCLEX-RN® for U.S. Licensure by Type of Degree (April 1 – June 30, 2019)1

RN-Diploma RN-Associate Degree RN-BaccalaureateTotal

April 1 – June 30, 2019


Alabama 761 664 87.3 619 595 96.1 1,380 1,259 91.2

Alaska 39 33 84.6 30 26 86.7 69 59 85.5

Arizona 527 478 90.7 255 242 94.9 782 720 92.1

Arkansas 335 292 87.2 397 368 92.7 732 660 90.2

California 728 640 87.9 1107 992 89.6 1,835 1,632 88.9

Colorado 306 287 93.8 303 288 95.0 609 575 94.4

Connecticut 182 160 87.9 317 306 96.5 499 466 93.4

Delaware 8 8 100.0 116 106 91.4 40 37 92.5 164 151 92.1

District of Columbia 8 8 100.0 38 37 97.4 46 45 97.8

Florida 3318 2251 67.8 1010 903 89.4 4,328 3,154 72.9

Georgia 656 596 90.9 1304 1199 91.9 1,960 1,795 91.6

Guam 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0

Hawaii 26 24 92.3 98 87 88.8 124 111 89.5

Idaho 85 77 90.6 224 200 89.3 309 277 89.6

Illinois 11 11 100.0 969 882 91.0 1545 1370 88.7 2,525 2,263 89.6

Indiana 12 11 91.7 660 570 86.4 1069 1006 94.1 1,741 1,587 91.2

Iowa 454 386 85.0 261 238 91.2 715 624 87.3

Kansas 429 358 83.4 536 493 92.0 965 851 88.2

Kentucky 767 692 90.2 546 518 94.9 1,313 1,210 92.2

Louisiana 207 197 95.2 283 273 96.5 490 470 95.9

Maine 192 180 93.8 300 282 94.0 492 462 93.9

Maryland 445 407 91.5 297 267 89.9 742 674 90.8

Massachusetts 3 2 66.7 156 130 83.3 449 411 91.5 608 543 89.3

Michigan 974 881 90.5 1043 937 89.8 2,017 1,818 90.1

Minnesota 864 740 85.6 635 574 90.4 1,499 1,314 87.7

Mississippi 804 708 88.1 292 274 93.8 1,096 982 89.6

Missouri 22 12 54.5 536 495 92.4 924 863 93.4 1,482 1,370 92.4

Montana 72 64 88.9 122 109 89.3 194 173 89.2

Nebraska 214 189 88.3 472 441 93.4 686 630 91.8

Nevada 123 109 88.6 227 210 92.5 350 319 91.1

New Hampshire 227 214 94.3 200 197 98.5 427 411 96.3

New Jersey 75 68 90.7 336 297 88.4 287 267 93.0 698 632 90.5

New Mexico 139 125 89.9 104 93 89.4 243 218 89.7

New York 1430 1251 87.5 672 577 85.9 2,102 1,828 87.0

North Carolina 17 14 82.4 2002 1832 91.5 1005 942 93.7 3,024 2,788 92.2

North Dakota 119 112 94.1 204 196 96.1 323 308 95.4



Table 5. First-Time, U.S.-Educated Candidates Taking the NCLEX-RN® for U.S. Licensure by Type of Degree (April 1 – June 30, 2019)1


April 1 – June 30, 2019


Northern Mariana Islands 2 0 0.0 2 0 0.0

Ohio 77 47 61.0 1080 897 83.1 1289 1184 91.9 2,446 2,128 87.0

Oklahoma 412 371 90.0 344 316 91.9 756 687 90.9

Oregon 47 40 85.1 252 229 90.9 299 269 90.0

Pennsylvania 313 299 95.5 462 410 88.7 1033 967 93.6 1,808 1,676 92.7

Rhode Island 24 20 83.3 96 87 90.6 96 87 90.6 216 194 89.8

South Carolina 563 525 93.3 557 510 91.6 1,120 1,035 92.4

South Dakota 322 306 95.0 322 306 95.0

Tennessee 278 264 95.0 521 481 92.3 799 745 93.2

Texas 45 43 95.6 2275 2059 90.5 2491 2340 93.9 4,811 4,442 92.3

Utah 579 471 81.3 297 272 91.6 876 743 84.8

Vermont 94 90 95.7 106 93 87.7 200 183 91.5

Virgin Islands 1 1 100.0 1 1 100.0

Virginia 458 377 82.3 417 384 92.1 875 761 87.0

Washington 351 312 88.9 199 184 92.5 550 496 90.2

West Virginia 264 243 92.0 173 163 94.2 437 406 92.9

Wisconsin 649 599 92.3 1004 921 91.7 1,653 1,520 92.0

Wyoming 163 148 90.8 27 26 96.3 190 174 91.6

Total 607 535 88.1 26,979 23,328 86.5 26,345 24,282 92.2 53,931 48,145 89.3




Table 6. First-Time, U.S.-Educated Candidates Taking the NCLEX-RN® for U.S. Licensure by Type of Degree (July 1 – Sept. 30, 2019)1


July 1 – Sept. 30, 2019


Alabama 724 633 87.4 525 489 93.1 1,249 1,122 89.8

Alaska 46 43 93.5 30 28 93.3 76 71 93.4

American Samoa 8 5 62.5 8 5 62.5

Arizona 563 507 90.1 414 394 95.2 977 901 92.2

Arkansas 218 167 76.6 187 173 92.5 405 340 84.0

California 2,764 2,571 93.0 2,523 2,363 93.7 5,287 4,934 93.3

Colorado 164 147 89.6 580 536 92.4 744 683 91.8

Connecticut 454 402 88.5 531 499 94.0 985 901 91.5

Delaware 13 13 100.0 50 44 88.0 166 157 94.6 229 214 93.4


Florida 3,035 2,087 68.8 1,357 1,235 91.0 4,392 3,322 75.6

Georgia 325 291 89.5 558 497 89.1 883 788 89.2

Guam 20 20 100.0 5 5 100.0 25 25 100.0

Hawaii 86 78 90.7 112 102 91.1 198 180 90.9

Idaho 101 89 88.1 127 113 89.0 228 202 88.6

Illinois 902 787 87.3 1,133 986 87.0 2,035 1,773 87.1

Indiana 12 11 91.7 344 281 81.7 595 526 88.4 951 818 86.0

Iowa 461 397 86.1 221 196 88.7 682 593 87.0

Kansas 163 117 71.8 195 165 84.6 358 282 78.8

Kentucky 348 305 87.6 218 192 88.1 566 497 87.8

Louisiana 242 223 92.1 378 361 95.5 620 584 94.2

Maine 38 33 86.8 119 106 89.1 157 139 88.5

Maryland 405 353 87.2 483 412 85.3 888 765 86.1

Massachusetts 67 62 92.5 743 671 90.3 1,117 1,041 93.2 1,927 1,774 92.1

Michigan 519 443 85.4 581 512 88.1 1,100 955 86.8

Minnesota 473 361 76.3 346 293 84.7 819 654 79.9

Mississippi 138 109 79.0 94 88 93.6 232 197 84.9

Missouri 39 32 82.1 327 285 87.2 476 432 90.8 842 749 89.0

Montana 105 82 78.1 87 76 87.4 192 158 82.3

Nebraska 60 54 90.0 291 262 90.0 351 316 90.0

Nevada 144 129 89.6 215 201 93.5 359 330 91.9

New Hampshire 75 67 89.3 120 118 98.3 195 185 94.9

New Jersey 193 176 91.2 808 723 89.5 863 796 92.2 1,864 1,695 90.9

New Mexico 162 136 84.0 121 102 84.3 283 238 84.1

New York 11 11 100.0 2,072 1,798 86.8 2,748 2,322 84.5 4,831 4,131 85.5

North Carolina 3 3 100.0 170 140 82.4 227 198 87.2 400 341 85.3

North Dakota 29 26 89.7 91 84 92.3 120 110 91.7




Table 6. First-Time, U.S.-Educated Candidates Taking the NCLEX-RN® for U.S. Licensure by Type of Degree (July 1 – Sept. 30, 2019)1


July 1 – Sept. 30, 2019


Ohio 88 71 80.7 1,436 1,208 84.1 1,385 1,246 90.0 2,909 2,525 86.8

Oklahoma 382 321 84.0 348 318 91.4 730 639 87.5

Oregon 494 452 91.5 364 340 93.4 858 792 92.3

Pennsylvania 331 301 90.9 1,101 1,001 90.9 2,263 2,083 92.0 3,695 3,385 91.6

Rhode Island 10 6 60.0 61 48 78.7 158 148 93.7 229 202 88.2

South Carolina 417 346 83.0 99 84 84.8 516 430 83.3

South Dakota 60 55 91.7 126 112 88.9 186 167 89.8

Tennessee 554 515 93.0 1,056 981 92.9 1,610 1,496 92.9

Texas 1 1 100.0 1,520 1,326 87.2 1,461 1,380 94.5 2,982 2,707 90.8

Utah 223 181 81.2 114 94 82.5 337 275 81.6

Vermont 30 26 86.7 82 71 86.6 112 97 86.6

Virgin Islands 13 12 92.3 13 12 92.3

Virginia 1 1 100.0 1,167 1,030 88.3 968 900 93.0 2,136 1,931 90.4

Washington 793 731 92.2 511 471 92.2 1,304 1,202 92.2

West Virginia 184 169 91.8 148 136 91.9 332 305 91.9

Wisconsin 297 269 90.6 493 408 82.8 790 677 85.7

Wyoming 63 50 79.4 36 35 97.2 99 85 85.9

Total 769 688 89.5 26,078 22,340 85.7 27,589 25,005 90.6 54,436 48,033 88.2




Table 7. First-Time, U.S.-Educated Candidates Taking the NCLEX-RN® for U.S. Licensure by Type of Degree (Oct. 1 – Dec. 31, 2019)1


Oct. 1 – Dec. 31, 2019


Alabama 192 152 79.2 55 45 81.8 247 197 79.8

Alaska 33 32 97.0 27 24 88.9 60 56 93.3

American Samoa 1 0 0.0

Arizona 63 46 73.0 284 267 94.0 347 313 90.2

Arkansas 102 84 82.4 16 13 81.3 118 97 82.2

California 541 448 82.8 1,103 959 86.9 1,644 1,407 85.6

Colorado 35 29 82.9 187 167 89.3 222 196 88.3

Connecticut 59 48 81.4 133 126 94.7 192 174 90.6

Delaware 25 24 96.0 5 4 80.0 30 28 93.3


Florida 2,444 1,318 53.9 604 485 80.3 3,048 1,803 59.2

Georgia 106 95 89.6 194 154 79.4 300 249 83.0

Guam 5 5 100.0 5 5 100.0

Hawaii 7 6 85.7 46 35 76.1 53 41 77.4

Idaho 17 15 88.2 8 6 75.0 25 21 84.0

Illinois 177 140 79.1 454 357 78.6 631 497 78.8

Indiana 2 2 100.0 82 57 69.5 193 166 86.0 277 225 81.2

Iowa 77 58 75.3 56 45 80.4 133 103 77.4

Kansas 50 41 82.0 108 98 90.7 158 139 88.0

Kentucky 248 206 83.1 11 6 54.5 259 212 81.9

Louisiana 37 34 91.9 2 2 100.0 28 27 96.4 67 63 94.0

Maine 5 4 80.0 64 59 92.2 69 63 91.3

Maryland 89 78 87.6 76 62 81.6 165 140 84.8

Massachusetts 6 4 66.7 143 116 81.1 417 382 91.6 566 502 88.7

Michigan 139 110 79.1 182 145 79.7 321 255 79.4

Minnesota 193 146 75.6 93 78 83.9 286 224 78.3

Mississippi 42 36 85.7 9 7 77.8 51 43 84.3

Missouri 7 4 57.1 38 34 89.5 216 196 90.7 261 234 89.7

Montana 3 1 33.3 10 10 100.0 13 11 84.6

Nebraska 57 45 78.9 29 25 86.2 86 70 81.4

Nevada 40 34 85.0 86 76 88.4 126 110 87.3

New Hampshire 16 14 87.5 3 3 100.0 19 17 89.5

New Jersey 14 12 85.7 138 113 81.9 186 163 87.6 338 288 85.2

New Mexico 96 67 69.8 85 75 88.2 181 142 78.5

New York 1 1 100.0 597 462 77.4 609 453 74.4 1,207 916 75.9

North Carolina 1 1 100.0 65 61 93.8 34 31 91.2 100 93 93.0

North Dakota 3 3 100.0 19 15 78.9 22 18 81.8



Table 7. First-Time, U.S.-Educated Candidates Taking the NCLEX-RN® for U.S. Licensure by Type of Degree (Oct. 1 – Dec. 31, 2019)1


Oct. 1 – Dec. 31, 2019



Ohio 110 78 70.9 454 324 71.4 336 298 88.7 900 700 77.8

Oklahoma 53 49 92.5 23 18 78.3 76 67 88.2

Oregon 42 35 83.3 163 153 93.9 205 188 91.7

Pennsylvania 81 67 82.7 141 116 82.3 602 547 90.9 824 730 88.6

Rhode Island 2 0 0.0 24 21 87.5 4 3 75.0 30 24 80.0

South Carolina 113 103 91.2 43 41 95.3 156 144 92.3

South Dakota 4 2 50.0 36 34 94.4 40 36 90.0

Tennessee 51 46 90.2 164 137 83.5 215 183 85.1

Texas 65 63 96.9 355 297 83.7 339 308 90.9 759 668 88.0

Utah 184 147 79.9 47 33 70.2 231 180 77.9

Vermont 2 1 50.0 4 4 100.0 6 5 83.3

Virgin Islands 6 4 66.7 6 4 66.7

Virginia 276 237 85.9 158 132 83.5 434 369 85.0

Washington 88 77 87.5 66 48 72.7 154 125 81.2

West Virginia 24 16 66.7 12 11 91.7 36 27 75.0

Wisconsin 77 69 89.6 144 130 90.3 221 199 90.0

Wyoming 4 3 75.0 4 4 100.0 8 7 87.5

Total 326 266 81.6 7,825 5,673 72.5 7,798 6,685 85.7 15,949 12,624 79.2




Table 8. First-Time, U.S.-Educated Candidates Taking the NCLEX-RN® for U.S. Licensure by Type of Degree (Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, 2019)

RN-Diploma RN-Associate Degree RN-Baccalaureate RN-Special Program Codes Total Jan. 1 –Dec. 31, 2019

Jurisdiction Candidates Passed % Candidates Passed % Candidates Passed % Candidates Passed % Candidates Passed %

Alabama 2,112 1,824 86.4 1,670 1,580 94.6 3,782 3,404 90.0

Alaska 184 167 90.8 115 104 90.4 299 271 90.6

American Samoa 9 5 55.6 9 5 55.6

Arizona 1,818 1,661 91.4 1,424 1,354 95.1 3,242 3,015 93.0

Arkansas 1,212 1,020 84.2 774 717 92.6 1,986 1,737 87.5

California 6,159 5,652 91.8 6,336 5,810 91.7 6 4 66.7 12,501 11,466 91.7

Colorado 683 629 92.1 1,507 1,405 93.2 2,190 2,034 92.9

Connecticut 786 686 87.3 1,128 1,075 95.3 1 1 100.0 1,915 1,762 92.0

Delaware 21 21 100.0 297 275 92.6 226 211 93.4 544 507 93.2


Florida 12,508 8,305 66.4 4,058 3,605 88.8 12 3 25.0 16,578 11,913 71.9

Georgia 1,467 1,326 90.4 3,046 2,774 91.1 4,513 4,100 90.8

Guam 25 25 100.0 6 5 83.3 31 30 96.8

Hawaii 140 129 92.1 316 273 86.4 1 1 100.0 457 403 88.2

Idaho 313 281 89.8 497 448 90.1 810 729 90.0

Illinois 11 11 100.0 2,817 2,511 89.1 4,465 3,912 87.6 2 1 50.0 7,295 6,435 88.2

Indiana 41 35 85.4 1,627 1,375 84.5 2,455 2,247 91.5 1 0 0.0 4,124 3,657 88.7

Iowa 1,300 1,107 85.2 773 698 90.3 2,073 1,805 87.1

Kansas 866 705 81.4 1,027 919 89.5 1,893 1,624 85.8

Kentucky 1,911 1,711 89.5 1,184 1,111 93.8 3,095 2,822 91.2

Louisiana 71 66 93.0 790 743 94.1 1,183 1,127 95.3 2,044 1,936 94.7

Maine 255 235 92.2 578 534 92.4 833 769 92.3

Maryland 1,383 1,257 90.9 1,207 1,042 86.3 2,590 2,299 88.8

Massachusetts 76 68 89.5 1,358 1,210 89.1 2,583 2,389 92.5 1 1 100.0 4,018 3,668 91.3

Michigan 2,359 2,078 88.1 2,695 2,396 88.9 1 1 100.0 5,055 4,475 88.5






Minnesota 2,330 1,929 82.8 1,353 1,203 88.9 3,683 3,132 85.0

Mississippi 1,330 1,162 87.4 646 595 92.1 1,976 1,757 88.9

Missouri 80 60 75.0 1,325 1,207 91.1 2,369 2,177 91.9 1 0 0.0 3,775 3,444 91.2

Montana 233 194 83.3 315 285 90.5 1 1 100.0 549 480 87.4

Nebraska 352 305 86.6 1,010 935 92.6 1,362 1,240 91.0

Nevada 486 436 89.7 769 721 93.8 1,255 1,157 92.2

New Hampshire 321 297 92.5 374 368 98.4 695 665 95.7

New Jersey 472 432 91.5 1,667 1,488 89.3 1,646 1,512 91.9 1 1 100.0 3,786 3,433 90.7

New Mexico 511 427 83.6 407 360 88.5 1 0 0.0 919 787 85.6

New York 12 12 100.0 5,558 4,803 86.4 5,214 4,437 85.1 10,784 9,252 85.8

North Carolina 54 49 90.7 2,570 2,349 91.4 1,767 1,652 93.5 1 0 0.0 4,392 4,050 92.2

North Dakota 151 141 93.4 484 459 94.8 635 600 94.5


Ohio 363 258 71.1 4,287 3,567 83.2 3,780 3,446 91.2 8,430 7,271 86.3

Oklahoma 1,233 1,089 88.3 826 752 91.0 1 1 100.0 2,060 1,842 89.4

Oregon 612 551 90.0 886 822 92.8 5 2 40.0 1,503 1,375 91.5

Pennsylvania 859 791 92.1 2,319 2,102 90.6 4,613 4,265 92.5 10 9 90.0 7,801 7,167 91.9

Rhode Island 36 26 72.2 339 294 86.7 374 346 92.5 749 666 88.9

South Carolina 1,427 1,273 89.2 1,120 1,032 92.1 1 1 100.0 2,548 2,306 90.5

South Dakota 104 95 91.3 709 660 93.1 813 755 92.9

Tennessee 1,181 1,094 92.6 2,543 2,346 92.3 3,724 3,440 92.4

Texas 150 144 96.0 6,085 5,441 89.4 6,727 6,350 94.4 12,962 11,935 92.1

Utah 1,408 1,162 82.5 743 663 89.2 2,151 1,825 84.8

Vermont 126 117 92.9 193 169 87.6 319 286 89.7






Virgin Islands 20 17 85.0 20 17 85.0

Virginia 1 1 100.0 2,358 2,031 86.1 2,295 2,132 92.9 4,654 4,164 89.5

Washington 1,452 1,319 90.8 990 894 90.3 2,442 2,213 90.6

West Virginia 620 571 92.1 410 380 92.7 1,030 951 92.3

Wisconsin 1,719 1,588 92.4 2,169 1,921 88.6 3,888 3,509 90.3

Wyoming 289 251 86.9 67 65 97.0 356 316 88.8

Total 2,247 1,974 87.9 84,798 72,217 85.2 84,282 76,902 91.2 47 27 57.4 171,374 151,120 88.2



Table 9. First-Time, Internationally Educated Candidates Taking the NCLEX-RN® for U.S. Licensure by Country of Education (Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, 2019)


Country of Education Candidates Passed % Candidates Passed % Candidates Passed % Candidates Passed % Candidates Passed %

Albania 3 1 33.3 4 1 25.0 3 1 33.3 4 0 0.0 14 3 21.4

Algeria 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0

Antigua and Barbuda 2 1 50.0 3 0 0.0 3 0 0.0 4 1 25.0 12 2 16.7

Argentina 1 1 100.0 3 2 66.7 4 3 75.0

Armenia 2 1 50.0 4 2 50.0 4 2 50.0 2 2 100.0 12 7 58.3

Australia 11 6 54.5 14 12 85.7 16 7 43.8 23 15 65.2 64 40 62.5

Azerbaijan 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0

Bahamas 2 2 100.0 9 6 66.7 4 2 50.0 3 1 33.3 18 11 61.1

Bangladesh 2 1 50.0 2 1 50.0

Barbados 3 2 66.7 5 2 40.0 8 3 37.5 16 7 43.8

Belarus 1 0 0.0 2 1 50.0 3 1 33.3 6 2 33.3

Belgium 1 1 100.0 1 1 100.0 1 1 100.0 1 1 100.0 4 4 100.0

Belize 3 0 0.0 3 0 0.0 1 1 100.0 7 1 14.3

Bermuda 2 1 50.0 1 0 0.0 2 1 50.0 1 0 0.0 6 2 33.3

Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 1 100.0 1 1 100.0

Botswana 1 1 100.0 1 1 100.0

Brazil 14 11 78.6 12 8 66.7 11 7 63.6 19 9 47.4 56 35 62.5

Burkina Faso 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0

Cameroon 13 3 23.1 18 4 22.2 23 6 26.1 33 3 9.1 87 16 18.4

Canada 43 35 81.4 62 52 83.9 42 30 71.4 54 49 90.7 201 166 82.6

Chile 1 1 100.0 3 3 100.0 2 0 0.0 5 4 80.0 11 8 72.7

China 50 21 42.0 44 19 43.2 40 15 37.5 44 17 38.6 178 72 40.4

Colombia 3 1 33.3 8 2 25.0 5 2 40.0 9 2 22.2 25 7 28.0

Costa Rica 1 0 0.0 2 0 0.0 3 0 0.0

Cuba 41 21 51.2 53 23 43.4 42 15 35.7 40 11 27.5 176 70 39.8






Czech Republic 1 0 0.0 1 1 100.0 2 1 50.0

Dominica 2 0 0.0 2 2 100.0 3 1 33.3 7 3 42.9

Dominican Republic 2 0 0.0 2 0 0.0 4 0 0.0

Egypt 5 3 60.0 9 4 44.4 5 5 100.0 19 12 63.2

El Salvador 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0

Eritrea 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0 3 0 0.0

Ethiopia 25 3 12.0 21 10 47.6 25 7 28.0 38 9 23.7 109 29 26.6

Fiji 1 0 0.0 3 0 0.0 4 0 0.0

Finland 4 2 50.0 4 3 75.0 4 2 50.0 2 1 50.0 14 8 57.1

France 3 3 100.0 5 2 40.0 3 3 100.0 6 2 33.3 17 10 58.8

Gambia 5 2 40.0 2 0 0.0 2 1 50.0 3 1 33.3 12 4 33.3

Georgia 3 0 0.0 3 0 0.0 2 0 0.0 2 0 0.0 10 0 0.0

Germany 7 5 71.4 8 5 62.5 7 5 71.4 4 3 75.0 26 18 69.2

Ghana 20 14 70.0 32 15 46.9 40 17 42.5 50 26 52.0 142 72 50.7

Greece 2 0 0.0 1 0 0.0 1 1 100.0 4 1 25.0

Grenada 1 1 100.0 2 0 0.0 4 0 0.0 1 0 0.0 8 1 12.5

Guyana 4 1 25.0 5 2 40.0 12 1 8.3 3 0 0.0 24 4 16.7

Haiti 11 1 9.1 10 1 10.0 7 2 28.6 11 1 9.1 39 5 12.8

Honduras 2 1 50.0 2 1 50.0

Hong Kong 3 2 66.7 4 2 50.0 4 2 50.0 4 3 75.0 15 9 60.0

Hungary 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0

Iceland 1 1 100.0 1 0 0.0 2 1 50.0

India 348 114 32.8 296 104 35.1 381 160 42.0 462 123 26.6 1487 501 33.7

Indonesia 3 1 33.3 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0 5 1 20.0

Iran, Islamic Republic of 1 0 0.0 5 3 60.0 5 1 20.0 9 3 33.3 20 7 35.0






Iraq 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0

Ireland 1 1 100.0 6 4 66.7 2 2 100.0 5 4 80.0 14 11 78.6

Israel 6 4 66.7 3 2 66.7 11 6 54.5 10 7 70.0 30 19 63.3

Italy 3 2 66.7 4 1 25.0 5 1 20.0 3 1 33.3 15 5 33.3

Jamaica 101 53 52.5 101 43 42.6 117 73 62.4 91 37 40.7 410 206 50.2

Japan 11 7 63.6 4 1 25.0 7 1 14.3 7 3 42.9 29 12 41.4

Jordan 37 23 62.2 42 23 54.8 39 18 46.2 48 28 58.3 166 92 55.4

Kazakhstan 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0 4 0 0.0

Kenya 102 59 57.8 90 59 65.6 136 84 61.8 188 116 61.7 516 318 61.6

Korea, South 228 143 62.7 233 142 60.9 177 84 47.5 197 107 54.3 835 476 57.0

Kuwait 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0

Lebanon 6 6 100.0 8 4 50.0 9 6 66.7 15 9 60.0 38 25 65.8

Liberia 4 0 0.0 5 0 0.0 7 1 14.3 10 0 0.0 26 1 3.8

Macedonia, Former Yugoslav Republic of 1 1 100.0 1 1 100.0

Malawi 4 3 75.0 2 2 100.0 2 1 50.0 1 0 0.0 9 6 66.7

Malaysia 1 1 100.0 3 1 33.3 2 0 0.0 6 1 16.7 12 3 25.0

Mexico 15 0 0.0 11 3 27.3 10 2 20.0 9 4 44.4 45 9 20.0

Moldova, Republic Of 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0

Mongolia 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0

Montenegro 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0

Morocco 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0

Namibia 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0 2 0 0.0

Nepal 139 76 54.7 120 55 45.8 147 70 47.6 134 40 29.9 540 241 44.6

Netherlands 1 1 100.0 1 1 100.0

New Zealand 5 4 80.0 4 1 25.0 3 2 66.7 5 3 60.0 17 10 58.8






Niger 1 1 100.0 1 1 100.0 2 2 100.0

Nigeria 176 89 50.6 197 93 47.2 239 109 45.6 276 129 46.7 888 420 47.3

Norway 2 1 50.0 2 1 50.0

Pakistan 10 2 20.0 14 7 50.0 20 11 55.0 16 7 43.8 60 27 45.0

Palau 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0

Palestinian Territory, Occupied 2 1 50.0 4 3 75.0 4 2 50.0 1 0 0.0 11 6 54.5

Panama 1 0 0.0 2 0 0.0 1 1 100.0 4 1 25.0

Peru 3 0 0.0 3 0 0.0

Philippines 2815 1400 49.7 3067 1472 48.0 3086 1587 51.4 3504 1447 41.3 12472 5906 47.4

Poland 2 2 100.0 2 1 50.0 2 1 50.0 6 4 66.7

Portugal 1 1 100.0 1 0 0.0 2 1 50.0 2 1 50.0 6 3 50.0

Puerto Rico 307 86 28.0 271 74 27.3 219 55 25.1 363 103 28.4 1160 318 27.4

Romania 4 1 25.0 4 1 25.0 4 0 0.0 12 2 16.7

Russian Federation 29 12 41.4 23 11 47.8 23 6 26.1 16 1 6.3 91 30 33.0

Rwanda 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0

Saint Kitts And Nevis 1 1 100.0 1 0 0.0 2 1 50.0

Saint Lucia 7 3 42.9 12 7 58.3 8 5 62.5 4 0 0.0 31 15 48.4

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 3 0 0.0 2 1 50.0 2 1 50.0 7 2 28.6

Saudi Arabia 2 1 50.0 13 3 23.1 29 10 34.5 4 0 0.0 48 14 29.2

Serbia 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0

Sierra Leone 1 0 0.0 2 1 50.0 1 1 100.0 5 1 20.0 9 3 33.3

Singapore 2 0 0.0 4 2 50.0 4 1 25.0 10 3 30.0

Somalia 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0

South Africa 7 6 85.7 9 3 33.3 6 2 33.3 9 4 44.4 31 15 48.4

Spain 5 2 40.0 1 0 0.0 1 1 100.0 4 2 50.0 11 5 45.5






Sri Lanka 1 1 100.0 3 0 0.0 4 1 25.0

Sudan 4 0 0.0 4 0 0.0

Swaziland 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0

Sweden 1 0 0.0 4 3 75.0 3 3 100.0 2 1 50.0 10 7 70.0

Switzerland 1 1 100.0 1 0 0.0 2 1 50.0

Taiwan 27 6 22.2 20 6 30.0 21 9 42.9 21 9 42.9 89 30 33.7

Tanzania, United Republic Of 1 0 0.0 1 1 100.0 2 0 0.0 4 1 25.0

Thailand 11 2 18.2 10 5 50.0 17 5 29.4 15 5 33.3 53 17 32.1

Trinidad And Tobago 6 4 66.7 11 7 63.6 19 8 42.1 11 4 36.4 47 23 48.9

Turkey 1 0 0.0 3 0 0.0 3 1 33.3 7 1 14.3

Uganda 5 4 80.0 6 5 83.3 1 0 0.0 6 2 33.3 18 11 61.1

Ukraine 19 6 31.6 13 4 30.8 10 1 10.0 10 3 30.0 52 14 26.9

United Arab Emirates 5 3 60.0 4 1 25.0 4 2 50.0 3 1 33.3 16 7 43.8

United Kingdom 21 7 33.3 27 7 25.9 23 8 34.8 38 19 50.0 109 41 37.6

Uzbekistan 17 3 17.6 16 1 6.3 9 0 0.0 16 2 12.5 58 6 10.3

Venezuela 3 0 0.0 1 0 0.0 2 0 0.0 6 0 0.0

Zambia 1 0 0.0 3 2 66.7 1 0 0.0 2 1 50.0 7 3 42.9

Zimbabwe 13 8 61.5 19 7 36.8 14 12 85.7 37 18 48.6 83 45 54.2

Total 4,814 2,292 47.6 5,064 2,353 46.5 5,173 2,499 48.3 5,989 2,425 40.5 21,040 9,569 45.5



Table 10. First-Time, Canada-Educated Candidates Taking the NCLEX-RN® for Canadian Licensure/Registration by Type of Degree (Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, 2019)

RN-Baccalaureate RN-Special Program Codes Total Jan. 1 - Dec. 31, 2019

Jurisdiction Candidates Passed % Candidates Passed % Candidates Passed %

Alberta 1,407 1,251 88.9 1,407 1,251 88.9

British Columbia 1,456 1,303 89.5 47 26 55.3 1,503 1,329 88.4

Manitoba 417 381 91.4 417 381 91.4

New Brunswick 207 164 79.2 207 164 79.2

Newfoundland And Labrador 234 219 93.6 234 219 93.6

Northwest Territories And Nunavut

16 10 62.5 16 10 62.5

Nova Scotia 601 474 78.9 601 474 78.9

Ontario 4,747 3,989 84.0 2 1 50.0 4,749 3,990 84.0

Prince Edward Island 74 61 82.4 74 61 82.4

Saskatchewan 585 503 86.0 16 14 87.5 601 517 86.0

Total* 9,744 8,355 85.7 65 41 63.1 9,809 8,396 85.6

* 33 Candidates are not included because their educational jurisdictions are not one of the 10 regulatory bodies that decided to adopt the NCLEX-RN as the nursing licensure/registration exam for Canada



Table 11. First-Time, Internationally Educated Candidates Taking the NCLEX-RN® for Canadian Licensure/Registration by Country of Education (Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, 2019)



Australia 5 4 80.0 5 5 100.0 3 1 33.3 7 4 57.1 20 14 70.0

Bahamas 1 1 100.0 1 1 100.0

Belgium 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0

Belize 1 1 100.0 1 1 100.0

Brazil 1 1 100.0 1 1 100.0

Bulgaria 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0

Burkina Faso 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0

Chad 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0

China 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0

Eritrea 1 1 100.0 1 1 100.0

Ethiopia 1 1 100.0 1 1 100.0

Finland 2 2 100.0 2 2 100.0

Germany 1 1 100.0 1 1 100.0

Ghana 2 2 100.0 1 1 100.0 3 3 100.0

Hong Kong 1 1 100.0 1 1 100.0

India 110 51 46.4 125 63 50.4 137 87 63.5 134 51 38.1 506 252 49.8

Iran, Islamic Republic of 8 5 62.5 11 5 45.5 7 5 71.4 12 6 50.0 38 21 55.3

Ireland 1 0 0.0 2 1 50.0 3 1 33.3

Israel 1 1 100.0 7 6 85.7 7 7 100.0 1 1 100.0 16 15 93.8

Jamaica 4 1 25.0 4 1 25.0 8 2 25.0

Jordan 1 1 100.0 1 0 0.0 2 1 50.0

Kenya 1 1 100.0 1 1 100.0

Korea, South 2 1 50.0 1 1 100.0 1 1 100.0 1 1 100.0 5 4 80.0

Lebanon 1 0 0.0 2 1 50.0 3 1 33.3



Table 11. First-Time, Internationally Educated Candidates Taking the NCLEX-RN® for Canadian Licensure/Registration by Country of Education (Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, 2019)



Malaysia 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0

Nepal 4 4 100.0 2 2 100.0 3 2 66.7 4 2 50.0 13 10 76.9

New Zealand 1 1 100.0 1 0 0.0 1 1 100.0 3 2 66.7

Nigeria 3 1 33.3 4 2 50.0 2 0 0.0 7 4 57.1 16 7 43.8

Pakistan 5 5 100.0 4 3 75.0 4 2 50.0 4 2 50.0 17 12 70.6

Philippines 100 77 77.0 78 57 73.1 100 67 67.0 104 58 55.8 382 259 67.8

Russian Federation 1 1 100.0 1 1 100.0

Serbia 1 1 100.0 1 1 100.0

Slovakia 1 1 100.0 1 1 100.0

Spain 1 1 100.0 1 1 100.0

Swaziland 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0

United Arab Emirates 1 1 100.0 1 1 100.0 2 2 100.0

United Kingdom 6 4 66.7 8 6 75.0 4 3 75.0 5 5 100.0 23 18 78.3

United States 1 1 100.0 1 1 100.0

Zimbabwe 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0

Total 257 161 62.6 255 157 61.6 276 178 64.5 295 143 48.5 1,083 639 59.0



Figure 1. NCLEX-RN® Pass Rates for First-Time, U.S.-Educated Candidates for U.S. Licensure

*April 1994 Computer Adaptive Test (CAT) begins. Passing Standard -0.4766 logits.**October 1995 Passing Standard changed from -0.4766 to -0.42 logits.***April 1998 Passing Standard changed from -0.42 to -0.35 logits.****April 2004 Passing Standard changed from -0.35 to -0.28 logits.*****April 2007 Passing Standard changed from -0.28 to -0.21 logits.******April 2010 Passing Standard changed from -0.21 to -0.16 logits.*******April 2013 Passing Standard changed from -0.16 to 0.00 logits.

9189

87 8885 85 85

87 87 87 87 8889

87 88 90 89 91 90

85 85 8488 89

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82 8077 76

72 71 69 69 71 71 7073 74

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90 90 88 8885 85 84 86 87 87 85 87 88

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Figure 4. NCLEX-RN® Pass Rates for First-Time, Canada-Educated Candidates for Canadian Licensure/Registration

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Figure 5. NCLEX-RN® Pass Rates for All Candidates for Canadian Licensure/Registration

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Figure 6. NCLEX-RN® Yearly Pass Rates for Canadian Licensure/Registration

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Figure 7. NCLEX-RN® Volume for First-Time, U.S.-Educated Candidates for U.S. Licensure

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Figure 8. NCLEX-RN® Volume for All Candidates for U.S. Licensure

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Figure 9. NCLEX-RN® Annual Volume for U.S. Licensure, April 1994 – December 2019

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Figure 10. NCLEX-RN® Volume for First-Time, Canada-Educated Candidates for Canadian Licensure/Registration

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Figure 11. NCLEX-RN® Volume for All Candidates for Canadian Licensure/Registration

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Figure 12. NCLEX-RN® Annual Volume for Canadian Licensure/Registration, January 2015 – December 2019

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Table 12. Candidates Taking the NCLEX-PN® by Type of Candidate

NCLEX-PN® Examination: Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, 2019

Type of Candidate



First-Time, U.S.-Educated 11,093 9,398 84.7 10,186 8,834 86.7 17,048 14,800 86.8 9,901 8,267 83.5 48,228 41,299 85.6

Repeat, U.S.-Educated 3,263 1,071 32.8 3,804 1,527 40.1 3,431 1,169 34.1 3,666 1,429 39.0 14,164 5,196 36.7

First-Time, Internationally Educated 121 63 52.1 120 72 60.0 138 70 50.7 144 81 56.3 523 286 54.7

Repeat, Internationally Educated 202 38 18.8 216 64 29.6 196 53 27.0 229 64 27.9 843 219 26.0

All Candidates 14,679 10,570 72.0 14,326 10,497 73.3 20,813 16,092 77.3 13,940 9,841 70.6 63,758 47,000 73.7

Table 13. Summary Statistics for First-Time NCLEX-PN® , U.S.-Educated Candidates

NCLEX-PN® January – December 2019

Passing Standard1

-0.21 logits

Estimated Decision Consistency2 0.91

Average Test Length3 114

Percent of Candidates Taking the Minimum Number of Items 56.2%

Percent of Candidates Taking the Maximum Number of Items 15.3%

Average Testing Time4 2 hours, 13 minutes

Percent of Candidates Taking the Maximum Amount of Time 1.5%

1 The NCLEX-PN scale uses logits as the unit of measurement. Logits is short for log-odds-units. These units have no inherent meaning with regard to nursing content and, in fact, have an arbitrary zero point, but logits are practical because the probability of a correct response can easily be computed when the candidate’s ability and the item’s difficulty are known. Typically, the logit range on the NCLEX-PN scale is from -2.00 (easy items or low ability candidates) to 2.00 (difficult items or high ability candidates).

2 Estimated Decision Consistency is an indicator of reliability. Conceptually, it is the proportion of pass-fail decisions that would remain the same if the same population were retested immediately after their first test (assuming no learning or fatigue effects) using a different set of items.

3 NCLEX-PN Examinations consist of 85 to 205 items.

4 The standard amount of allotted testing time for the NCLEX-PN is five hours.



Table 14. First-Time, U.S.-Educated Candidates Taking the NCLEX-PN® (Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, 2019)

Jurisdiction



Alabama 197 184 93.4 174 163 93.7 295 277 93.9 279 266 95.3 945 890 94.2

American Samoa 4 3 75.0 3 3 100.0 7 6 85.7

Arizona 61 58 95.1 89 78 87.6 177 175 98.9 74 64 86.5 401 375 93.5

Arkansas 214 193 90.2 240 221 92.1 365 317 86.8 77 69 89.6 896 800 89.3

California 1,551 1,203 77.6 1,401 1,131 80.7 1,695 1,339 79.0 1,654 1,299 78.5 6,301 4,972 78.9

Colorado 56 47 83.9 106 95 89.6 178 156 87.6 78 67 85.9 418 365 87.3

Connecticut 161 146 90.7 160 135 84.4 139 95 68.3 242 189 78.1 702 565 80.5

Delaware 19 19 100.0 22 21 95.5 94 84 89.4 40 31 77.5 175 155 88.6

District of Columbia 8 6 75.0 9 8 88.9 7 6 85.7 5 4 80.0 29 24 82.8

Florida 919 681 74.1 811 580 71.5 1,035 752 72.7 743 516 69.4 3,508 2,529 72.1

Georgia 283 259 91.5 109 95 87.2 367 343 93.5 116 107 92.2 875 804 91.9

Guam 1 0 0.0 1 1 100.0 2 1 50.0

Hawaii 25 20 80.0 17 11 64.7 26 23 88.5 12 10 83.3 80 64 80.0

Idaho 37 36 97.3 35 35 100.0 75 72 96.0 23 22 95.7 170 165 97.1

Illinois 298 244 81.9 225 202 89.8 702 654 93.2 181 152 84.0 1,406 1,252 89.0

Indiana 188 180 95.7 30 26 86.7 226 222 98.2 67 63 94.0 511 491 96.1

Iowa 146 141 96.6 187 184 98.4 314 294 93.6 57 54 94.7 704 673 95.6

Kansas 181 169 93.4 421 390 92.6 154 131 85.1 18 15 83.3 774 705 91.1

Kentucky 155 144 92.9 126 118 93.7 232 215 92.7 75 66 88.0 588 543 92.3

Louisiana 300 261 87.0 271 253 93.4 316 268 84.8 95 79 83.2 982 861 87.7

Maine 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0 2 0 0.0

Maryland 20 20 100.0 37 36 97.3 99 97 98.0 34 32 94.1 190 185 97.4

Massachusetts 64 61 95.3 33 30 90.9 530 495 93.4 100 89 89.0 727 675 92.8

Michigan 238 207 87.0 245 216 88.2 270 237 87.8 215 191 88.8 968 851 87.9

Minnesota 354 313 88.4 434 392 90.3 247 208 84.2 66 61 92.4 1,101 974 88.5




Jurisdiction



Mississippi 191 162 84.8 57 52 91.2 443 386 87.1 59 40 67.8 750 640 85.3

Missouri 276 260 94.2 145 129 89.0 582 524 90.0 217 185 85.3 1,220 1,098 90.0

Montana 15 14 93.3 1 1 100.0 23 22 95.7 10 10 100.0 49 47 95.9

Nebraska 32 29 90.6 100 94 94.0 112 91 81.3 26 22 84.6 270 236 87.4

Nevada 17 14 82.4 2 2 100.0 19 16 84.2

New Hampshire 39 31 79.5 45 38 84.4 43 38 88.4 38 32 84.2 165 139 84.2

New Jersey 429 316 73.7 413 306 74.1 602 450 74.8 502 395 78.7 1,946 1,467 75.4

New Mexico 37 35 94.6 48 44 91.7 59 56 94.9 30 28 93.3 174 163 93.7

New York 319 242 75.9 353 282 79.9 1,020 823 80.7 748 614 82.1 2,440 1,961 80.4

North Carolina 82 71 86.6 124 116 93.5 602 576 95.7 140 125 89.3 948 888 93.7

North Dakota 20 19 95.0 29 28 96.6 117 111 94.9 10 10 100.0 176 168 95.5


Ohio 634 530 83.6 595 493 82.9 1,014 862 85.0 768 649 84.5 3,011 2,534 84.2

Oklahoma 237 199 84.0 168 150 89.3 516 448 86.8 167 154 92.2 1,088 951 87.4

Oregon 90 59 65.6 119 106 89.1 104 86 82.7 136 115 84.6 449 366 81.5

Pennsylvania 532 459 86.3 465 404 86.9 540 484 89.6 644 543 84.3 2,181 1,890 86.7

Rhode Island 59 49 83.1 68 61 89.7 70 62 88.6 33 29 87.9 230 201 87.4

South Carolina 106 95 89.6 89 85 95.5 226 203 89.8 145 131 90.3 566 514 90.8

South Dakota 47 44 93.6 47 44 93.6 89 88 98.9 9 9 100.0 192 185 96.4

Tennessee 311 287 92.3 323 299 92.6 288 256 88.9 527 488 92.6 1,449 1,330 91.8

Texas 1,280 1,111 86.8 753 691 91.8 1,460 1,335 91.4 771 659 85.5 4,264 3,796 89.0

Utah 159 157 98.7 259 256 98.8 103 100 97.1 62 61 98.4 583 574 98.5

Vermont 1 1 100.0 139 138 99.3 1 1 100.0 141 140 99.3

Virgin Islands 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0

Virginia 251 204 81.3 261 217 83.1 542 466 86.0 333 282 84.7 1,387 1,169 84.3




Jurisdiction



Washington 73 66 90.4 91 87 95.6 166 158 95.2 65 55 84.6 395 366 92.7

West Virginia 57 49 86.0 34 29 85.3 332 277 83.4 90 74 82.2 513 429 83.6

Wisconsin 274 260 94.9 362 350 96.7 254 243 95.7 104 97 93.3 994 950 95.6

Wyoming 50 44 88.0 49 48 98.0 55 54 98.2 10 10 100.0 164 156 95.1

Total 11,093 9,398 84.7 10,186 8,834 86.7 17,048 14,800 86.8 9,901 8,267 83.5 48,228 41,299 85.6



Table 15. First-Time, Internationally Educated Candidates Taking the NCLEX-PN® by Country of Education (Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, 2019)

Country of Education



Armenia 2 0 0.0 2 0 0.0

Australia 1 1 100.0 1 1 100.0

Belarus 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0

Belize 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0

Cameroon 2 0 0.0 1 1 100.0 3 1 33.3

Canada 12 10 83.3 12 10 83.3 16 10 62.5 14 8 57.1 54 38 70.4

China 1 1 100.0 1 1 100.0 2 2 100.0

Colombia 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0

Cuba 2 2 100.0 1 0 0.0 3 2 66.7

Ethiopia 1 0 0.0 5 2 40.0 6 2 33.3

Fiji 2 1 50.0 2 1 50.0

Gambia 1 1 100.0 1 1 100.0

Georgia 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0

Germany 2 2 100.0 2 2 100.0

Ghana 1 0 0.0 2 1 50.0 4 3 75.0 7 4 57.1

Guyana 1 1 100.0 1 0 0.0 2 1 50.0

Haiti 3 2 66.7 1 1 100.0 4 3 75.0

Hong Kong 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0

India 13 3 23.1 12 3 25.0 13 5 38.5 15 9 60.0 53 20 37.7

Jamaica 1 0 0.0 2 2 100.0 1 0 0.0 6 2 33.3 10 4 40.0

Jordan 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0

Kenya 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0

Liberia 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0

Malta 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0

Namibia 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0



Table 15. First-Time, Internationally Educated Candidates Taking the NCLEX-PN® by Country of Education (Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, 2019)

Country of Education



Nepal 2 1 50.0 1 1 100.0 3 2 66.7

Nigeria 5 3 60.0 3 1 33.3 3 2 66.7 2 2 100.0 13 8 61.5

Pakistan 2 0 0.0 2 0 0.0

Philippines 75 42 56.0 63 45 71.4 88 48 54.5 87 50 57.5 313 185 59.1

Puerto Rico 3 0 0.0 4 2 50.0 1 1 100.0 3 0 0.0 11 3 27.3

Romania 2 1 50.0 1 0 0.0 3 1 33.3

Russian Federation 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0 3 0 0.0

Sierra Leone 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0 3 0 0.0

Taiwan 1 1 100.0 1 1 100.0

Thailand 1 1 100.0 1 1 100.0

Uganda 1 0 0.0 2 1 50.0 3 1 33.3

Ukraine 1 1 100.0 1 1 100.0

United Kingdom 1 1 100.0 1 1 100.0

Uzbekistan 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0 2 0 0.0

Vietnam 1 0 0.0 1 0 0.0

Total 121 63 52.1 120 72 60.0 138 70 50.7 144 81 56.3 523 286 54.7



Figure 13. NCLEX-PN® Pass Rates for First-Time, U.S.-Educated Candidates

*April 1994 Computer Adaptive Test (CAT) begins. Passing Standard -0.56 logits. **October 1996 Passing Standard changed from -0.56 to -0.51 logits. ***April 1999 Passing Standard changed from -0.51 to -0.47 logits. ****April 2005 Passing Standard changed from -0.47 to -0.42 logits. *****April 2008 Passing Standard changed from -0.42 to -0.37 logits.******April 2011 Passing Standard changed from -0.37 to -0.27 logits. *******April 2014 Passing Standard changed from -0.27 to -0.21 logits

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83 82 8380 78

76 74 75 7679 80 80 79 78 76 76 78

75 74 7470 69 71 71 73 74

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Figure 16. NCLEX-PN® Volume for First-Time, U.S.-Educated Candidates

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Figure 18. NCLEX-PN® Annual Volume, April 1994 – December 2019

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Documents

2019 NCLEX Examination Statistics - NCSBN